Now that my summer schedule is starting to come together, I've realised that I've perhaps bitten off more than I can chew. I come home most nights too tired and sore to even knock on my roommates' doors. At the same time, it's a good kind of exhaustion. I love feeling like I've accomplished something when I come home at night, even if it was just getting a compliment from my supervisor or putting a smile on a customer's face. Here's how things have been going for me:

LA INC

As the weeks go by, I find myself increasingly receiving assignments that challenge me and keep me busy. I sat in on my first ever corporate meeting last week, during which we discussed copyright laws (we've been dealing with some problems regarding copyrighted image, so my supervisor invited the interns to sit in on the meeting so we'd learn something for future reference). I've tried to go out of my way to get involved with the projects around the office. For instance, we've been working on the marketing campaign for Mummies of the World recently, and when someone else asked my supervisor if he could get an intern to help her at the press event a few days ago, I immediately volunteered even though it was on my day off. I had a great time and learned a lot about how such events work, knowledge that will definitely come in handy one day.

One area I've struggled in at LA INC is getting to know my coworkers. I feel very isolated from them for various reasons -- my cubicle is enclosed and relatively far away from the main office, and my age (I'm not 21 yet) prevents me from going out and, say, buying drinks during happy hour with them after work. My supervisor often invites me to eat lunch with him and some of the others, and even though I accept most of the time, it's difficult for me to join the conversation. I think the best way to get to know people is on a more one-on-one basis, so from now on, I'm going to try to get involved in situations where I know I'll get to work closely with someone in the office whom I haven't met yet.

THR

I've settled into a steady routine by now. On Fridays, I update the production charts, and on Sunday, I work for the web team, uploading content and creating photo galleries. I really enjoy working with the production charts -- even though it's monotonous work, I'm learning a great deal about the entertainment business and what's currently going on in the film industry. That's the main reason why I chose to intern at THR. I want to work on the corporate side of film one day, and familiarity with who's who and what's what is of foremost importance when you're pursuing that kind of position.

Katsuya

For a while, I wasn't sure if I'd ever start working. Shortly after my last blog post, the hiring manager, Grace, called me to let me know that they'd just found out I had been hired for the Katsuya in Glendale, not the one in Hollywood. I told her Glendale was too far, so she sent me to LA LIVE instead. Then, last week, I found out I'd missed a mandatory training session that no one had told me about. Luckily, Grace agreed to let me come to the next one once they schedule it, since things the location changes have made things very confusing.

Despite my slow progress with corporate, I've really enjoyed working at the LA LIVE location so far. My first day was relatively slow, so I got the chance to get accustomed to the different managing style at the restaurant. Then things got a little crazy when Anime Expo came to town. I had to work all three nights that weekend, and by the end of it I was exhausted. Standing on 3.5 inch heels every night is painful! Luckily, the work environment is very relaxed and all the staff are friendly. I definitely feel the awkwardness of being new, but I know it will fade over time. For now, I'm working on improving my customer service skills.

Los Angeles

I'm proud to say that I've been proactive in my pursuit of the perfect personal summer in LA. So far I've gone hiking on various trails around the Greater Los Angeles area (my favourite was Solstice Canyon, in Malibu), visited Venice Beach for the first time to watch 4th of July fireworks, and tried a number of restaurants I've had bookmarked for a long time (26 beach has the best burger I've ever tasted). Unfortunately, I no longer have much free time now that I've started working at Katsuya, so I'll have to start prioritizing the things I want to do. Next on the list: LACMA and brunch in the Mid-City West.